NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — An accidental recording on a detainee’s phone captured NYPD officers bragging about collecting unnecessary overtime pay by keeping a man detained longer than necessary.
The recording, which was reviewed and first reported on by Gothamist, also included officers insulting arrestees.
Jonathan Wohl, a 35-year-old construction worker, was arrested in September when he refused to leave the offices of his union, Laborers Local 79, while protesting a racist foreman.
He was recording himself in the lobby, and his phone continued recording after he was arrested.
During his almost eight-hour detention at the Midtown South Precinct, Wohl’s confiscated phone recorded NYPD officers speaking candidly about abusing the overtime system at his expense and insulting various detainees.
The NYPD did not immediately respond to 1010 WINS’ request for comment.
About three hours after he was placed in a holding cell to wait for a desk appearance ticket, an unidentified officer approached Wohl’s arresting officer Shaun Enright and asked if he was going to “run some time.”
“Are you going to milk it a bit? Or is it quick?” he asked. “I’m going to make my money,” Enright replied. “I’m going to make it work.”
The comments seem to indicate Enright planned to leave Wohl detained longer than it took to write a ticket in order to collect overtime pay.
Wohl told Gothamist his cell had feces in it and that he was denied water.
In the 2022 fiscal year, the NYPD exceeded its overtime budget by $155 million. A March report from New York City Comptroller Brad Lander found the NYPD had already exceeded its overtime budget for 2023 halfway through the fiscal year.
Other moments on the tape captured officers insulting Wohl and other arrestees.
An unidentified officer called one woman a “liberal c**t.”
“Maybe that 18 hours that you spend on that f*****g cage in the back will change your mind about life a little bit,” he said.
Enright called Wohl a “professional victim” and a “total idiot.”
He said it “would be funny if I EDP’d him,” seemingly referencing the NYPD’s designation for emotionally disturbed persons.
Mayor Eric Adams implemented a policy in November to allow police to forcibly hospitalize people undergoing mental health crises even if they pose no immediate danger to themselves or others.
Enright could also be heard celebrating the opportunities to collect overtime provided by New York’s 2019 bail reform law that the NYPD has vigorously campaigned against.
“Bail reform sucks. But it's also one of the best things that's ever happened, too,” said Enright. “God is great, bro.”
The Manhattan District Attorney’s Office declined to prosecute Wohl for the trespassing charge.
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